And there goes the Strider-Lalonde
by Useless Writer
Summary: Rose Lalonde and Dave Strider are siblings, apart by a year. Their parents were divorced . Dave hasn't seen his mother for years and so did Rose, and they're planning to see and make themselves a family once more
1. Chapter 1

A 7 year old Rose took out a small sketchbook and notebook from the drawer of her desk. The teacher called out her name and it was her turn to tell the class about what she brought to school. The whole week, English class was dedicated to "Show and Tell" .

She got up from her chair, excitedly but not showing it by using a facade that others would tease her about. She got up front and opened her sketchbook, filled with doodles, but not hers. At the last page was a picture of a family, a grown man, an adult woman, and their children, who were still babies.

"This sketchbook is my brother's, but he gave it to me when we left. He liked to draw, but he prefers rapping" Rose could hear other's snickers, bickers and insults, but she didn't care. "Quiet!" the teacher scolded the noisy students and asked Rose to continue her story.

"This is my family. Daddy Dirk, Mommy Roxy, Lil' Bro Dave and myself. This is the only picture I have left of Daddy and Dave, before we left. I never saw Dave and Daddy after that and I don't remember them. Mommy often tell me stories of Daddy ,rarely of Dave. Sometimes, Daddy calls Mommy and tells her about Dave, but I never get to know about him" she paused for awhile , thinking of what else to say.

A boy shot his right hand upwards, "Where's your Daddy? Is he in jail or something?" , the boy snickered and laughed hysterically , along with the class. " Quiet! This is the last warning! One more and it's detention to all of you except Rose!" the teacher got frustrated.

Rose didn't care. She pretended not to hear them. She tuned out their laughs to a song her Mommy always play at home, when she's not drunk.

"Daddy is in Texas, he works at a record label as a producer" she wasn't lying, but her Daddy also had a pastime, or so she heard from her Mommy, doing ironic things. From what she heard, her Daddy was always busy, so Dave was always left in the care of a babysitter in their condominium. "Mommy is a scientist, but she likes making weird stuff" she grinned.

"What about your brother? Is he another "imaginary brother"?" the same boy questioned again. "That's it! All of you , detention after school!" she yelled at the noisy class, who ended up regretting it. "Mommy said Dave is sickly, or an albino, I don't know what that is but she said it wasn't serious, but his albino characteristics had made him ill very often" her voice trailed off. "That's the end of mine" she informed the teacher. "That was wonderful, Rose. Unlike your classmates who kept talking about their video games and dresses" the teacher glared at his students. All the girls, except Rose, wore their finest dresses, put on makeup, bringing their toys to school. The boys on the other hand, brought Lego, Nerf, and other nonsensical toys and even their video game consoles.

OoOoO

Roxy was called to the school's office. She wasn't as drunk as usual, but still drunk. Nevertheless, her speech wasn't messed up with sobs and mistakes. She drove there safely, managing a day without a ticket from any traffic police.

When she arrived at the very room, she saw the principal with a worried face, her daughter's homeroom teacher and her daughter who was sketching with a pencil on her sketchbook. "Did she do something wrong?" Roxy broke the awkward silence .

"No, she didn't, Ms. Lalonde. We would like you to bring her home...and possibly transfer her to a different school" the principal shook his head, sighing. "Why? Something happened to her?" she didn't sound worried, but she was.

"Well... we had Show and Tell today, like every week, but her topic was always the same, her classmates, and even schoolmates kept teasing and even bullying her but she didn't mind or even flinch when I saw her get punched by another student. I'm sorry Ms. Lalonde, that I wasn't in time to stop her from getting hurt" Roxy nodded understandingly.

"We already contacted some other schools, some privates, others are publics and a few are willing to take in your daughter" the principal glanced at the busy Rose, before looking back at the mother of the 7 year old.

"But what topic did she told the class? Surely, if it's her usual hobby, it will never be the same topic over and over again" Roxy informed the teachers. Rose stopped sketching and started to fidget. "I'm sorry Miss, but... I think it's best for you to look through her sketchbook" the teacher said.

Roxy picked up the tiny sketchbook although Rose reluctantly gave it to her. Her daughter was rarely like this, or to be honest, never.

She opened the sketchbook, greeted with a childish sketch of herself and Rose. She smiled. The next, herself , Rose and in a house. The third page, there were furniture added, this time, Rose sketched her mother smiling, and herself like a baby. The fourth, however, another figure was added. With sharp shades that reminded her of him.

The fifth, another bundle was added to the sketch. Roxy didn't know what to do anymore. She didn't dare to turn to the last page. But she had to.

At the last page, was a photo ,taken 6 years ago. Of herself, a 21 years old mother at the time. Her ex-husband , 22 years old Dirk Strider, a 1 year old Rose Lalonde and newborn David Strider. Oh how happy they were.

"Mommy?" Rose's voice had no change in tone, but it was obvious, even with her facade, that she didn't want anybody to see her sketchbook full of angst. "It's okay, Rosie darling. Mommy's fine" Roxy ruffled Rose's hair. "So which school is the best for her?" she turned to the principal, who immediately took out a folder and started to scan through it.

OoOoO

"Mother, wake up!" Roxy didn't want to, she had a terrible hung over. "Mother, please, before I take away all your alcohol" Rose's voice was desperate. At the age of 13, she knew how to take care of herself, considering the fact that Roxy was rarely home as she grew up.

"mmmmm, give mo'my s'more lime *time *hic* " Roxy shooed her daughter away. "Fine then, I'll be going to school now!" and with that, Rose slammed the door and left for the day.

Rose was frustrated and angry at her mother. She loved her like any daughter would , but would it kill her to actually raise her like a proper mother would instead of getting drunk every night?! Is this the reason why her mother and herself left her father and brother? Just so that she could drink more without restrictions?

No. She has to keep cool. Calm. Composed.

"Yo Rose" she heard a voice calling out her name, and it was similar to hers, slightly deeper. She turned around, with a genuine smile , "Hello, Dave" , she was happy to see her little brother .

Wearing ridiculous shades just like their father, or Bro, as he wanted them to call him. Their hair were of slightly different colours from each other, Dave's being near to white, Rose was pale blonde. Dave was paler than she was, due to his albino characteristics that he inherited from Bro.

"So how's Mom?" as usual, he keeps up with his facade and remained calm, but Rose knew deep down, he just wanted to see his birth mother, and possibly slap her for leaving Bro and himself. Even Rose wanted to. There was no motive or benefit from the divorce.

"Usual, you know. Drunk , drinking as much as her pocket money could afford every hour" Rose replied almost immediately. Dave's face remained emotionless as ever, but Rose knew, he wanted a normal family, where there is no broken ties or problems, heck , even Bro had his own problems which was his obsession of Smuppets, sick beats, jamming and all those crap.

"When I'm older, I ain't gonna fucking have children, those lil shits will probably make me end up like bitchy Bro" Rose scoffed. "Really? I should've recorded that then, maybe in the next few years, you might bang a girl and ended up having kids anyway and you'll be eternally grateful" she plainly countered, earning a frown from Dave.

"Then if I find myself some bitch to get laid with, and that bitch is mutual with this Strider, then sure as fuck she can have this Strider ass" Dave mocked. Rose could only giggle at her brother's foul words and grammar. "But we're brother and sister, why don't I have the same Strider ass then?" of course, Rose knew that her brother would come back with a different topic to talk about.

"Yo Harley, where's Egderp?" Dave called out to a girl with messy,black hair who was wearing glasses, similarly to of Harry Potter. "John's sick! He's not coming today" the black-haired girl yelled back. And this was exactly the "bitch" that Rose knew, that was perfect for her little brother. She was also a year younger than Rose. Maybe, bitch isn't the right word , it's impolite, but because of her brother's vulgar vocabulary and no gentleman manners (probably due to the absence of a mother and frequent absence of a father to educate him manners) , she set it aside.

Jade caught up to the siblings, she was 5 cm shorter than Rose and Dave was actually 7 cm taller than Rose, making the albino 12 cm taller than Jade. Not surprising but wasn't it too early for his hormones to act , he was growing fast too.

"So... does Mom know about it yet?" he emphasize on "it" and Rose instantly knew what it was. When Rose transferred to a new school, she and her mother moved to a different state, far from their hometown, where her new school was located. And at the exact moment, Bro and Dave were residing there, moving from Texas when Dave was barely 3. It was too hot for a baby anyways.

Dave was a grade ahead than his kids his age, except for Jade maybe. The school authority had put him in a grade above than what he where he was supposed to be in, but he managed to catch up and top the class. That was where Rose saw Dave and Dave finally met his long-lost sister. Maybe it was their mother's genes of being a smartass that made Dave smarter than everybody in their grade ecept for Rose herself. But being under the care of Bro, there was a toll.

He was smart, that was obvious. But he was very, very ironic. Not the coincidence ironic, the actual meaning of irony. You'd expect him to be nerdy and all, but in fact, he spends his time rapping, doing sick beats , strife with Bro and play games all day long. Yep, he also managed some other ways besides running all over the state to escape from lil Cal ( Bro's creepy doll or whatever) and Bro's Smuppets.

And that also strikes out the irony of a coolkid. One, you'd think he would ignore the nerds , wrong, his sister and him-fucking-self could be considered one. Two, he does not enjoy staying up late at night, doing anything else, unless it's an online game. Three, those shades aren't for looking cool, it's just for the irony of wearing normal shades.

"Rose" the blonde was still walking. "Rose" She decided to pause and walked again. "Rose" she turned around after hearing her name being called out thrice . "What is it that you want, Dave?" she didn't intentionally want to say those words harshly, though, but he was used to it by now.

"this may or may not sound cool but fuck that shit fuck this coolkid facade" Dave said without a single breath. "What is it, my dear little brother?" she remarked with the tone of curiousity although with hidden intention.

"I want to see Mom again" that was not what she was expecting. But of course, his motto was irony, and by now, she expected that he would do everything weirdly , but somehow, ironically to what she thought he would do, he did something, fucking and perfectly normal.

"Dave, as much as I love you , as your elder sister, and who's leaving with mother for a longer period of time than you did, I highly do not recomm-" she was cut off my the younger's glare, which was hidden by his shades. "You want to see Bro, too, right? Don't fucking joke around with me, this shit is serious, sis, I want to see Mom and you want to see Bro, we're both their little shits and that means we have the fucking rights to see them any-fucking-time we want to" there you go, Rose. That was irony, too,right? Because he was a coolkid and nobody expected him to fuss over his familial relationships and cry over it,right?

"Strider, as much as I want to see Bro, they won't see each other ,would they? Hell, we don't even know if they're willing to see us after years of not seeing each other" their entire conversation was whispered, and hopefully, Jade didn't hear them.

"Then we'll just fucking make them" sometimes, she forgets that her brother has wide vocabulary, with more vulgar words than polite.

"We can't, Dave and you know that"

Hey~ This is my first Homestuck fanfiction, and I'm pretty sure some of you didn't even know I was into Homestuck, considering all I did was Hetalia genderbends...

Oh well, have some family!Strider-Lalonde ([ ] w [ ])

And no, Bro and Mom's divorce wasn't because of a conflict or no more-love bullshit but it's something different~


	2. Chapter 2

Crows are his favourite birds. Crows are also his favourite animals. The crows in his bed room are his pets. Fuck those people who thinks it's weird. It's actually scary that crows signifies death in some beliefs but Dave wasn't an Asian that's with all these ridiculous traditions, so why would he care? Crows are fucking cool and ironic to have as pets.

Except they could be pretty much fucking annoying in the morning.

Dave woke up to the staring contest of crows and himself. Thank God he wore shades to sleep this time. "Get the fuck away from me you feathery birdbrain shits" after chasing them away with his polite attitude and wide vocabulary, he scanned the living room of his apartment. Nope, no sign of him anywhere.

_Of course he wouldn't be, what were you thinking? He's never home for more than 2 days,_ Dave gave a loud sigh, not caring if that was rude or impolite. His apartment was no ordinary apartment. It was an apartment that was specially for actors, film producers and their children. Of course, Dave himself was one of the children and a child actor himself.

Fuck yeah. Double combo

He turned on his laptop ( which Bro made out of scratch for him and he's pretty much proud of that, except he couldn't figure out how to disable the stroke recorder or whatever it's called , that was pre-installed in the laptop so Bro could watch over him during one of his trips overseas) and connected to the WiFi.

He double clicked on the Pesterchum icon and found that his friends were already awake. Shit, how did they even wake up early in the morning?

Then he found tentacleTherapist [TT] already online.

-turntechGodhead[TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

TG: yo lalonde

TG: you should really change that shitty chum handle

TG: what if someone sneaks up on any of us chatting with you and thought the wrong idea

TG: yo lalonde

TG:you there

TT: yes i am here dave

TT: i would pretty much appreciate it if you would call me rose and not lalonde since we are brother and sister are we not?

TT: and no, i would not change my chum handle as john have not shown me how to

TT: why are you awake early in the morning anyways

TG: says the person who's doing the same

TG: so you see, i have this shitty crows as pets and that's pretty cool since no one does

TG: but they had a staring contest with my sleeping body

TG: and psychologically, staring at someone makes them feel uncomfortable

TG: and i woke up , grab my katana and kinda killed some of my crows

TG: they were creeping the fuck out of me anyways

TT:sorry dave i have to leave

TT: i have unfinished homework to do

TG: wait what you're just going to leave me here

TG: fine then

TG: fiiiiineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

-turntechGodhead[TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist[TT]—

That was incredibly short but you're going to see her anyways. Now time to eat your breakfast.

Except that Bro didn't do grocery shopping, and you don't have a car, and the nearest grocer is fucking 4 miles away. Fuck healthy way of life.

**OoOoO**

Fuck. Today you have to present a presentation of your family. How the fuck are you supposed to do that? You may be up-to-date or high-techy , but how are you going to present it? Stupid English class.

Well you gathered some materials at the very least, photo albums of when you were a newborn to the age of four. You and Bro didn't have time for any photo taking after that, you were both busy anyways with your awesomely cool double-life of a child actor and a kindergartener.

The teachers calls out your name, "David Strider, your turn, and please nothing of vulgar language and explicit contents" pffffft it seemed like your teacher doesn't understand the irony of that. You walk up in front with photo albums and you see Rose ( luckily for you, you were fucking smart at all this bullshit in class, so you skipped a grade and yet managed to beat those a year older than you, except for Rose and John) at the back of the class, it wasn't her turn yet.

You're going to beat her to it.

You open your PowerPoint presentation firstly. Out came a photo of your mother and Bro. They looked young, possibly no older than 17 years old. They were at some kind of beach with their friends, John and Jade's parents.

"That is my Mom, the blonde , and Bro is the other blond, with those awesome shades and anime-like hair" you simply said. The next slide was a photo of their wedding, " should I explain this one?" , you shrugged and continued on, to the next photo. It had yourself, a newborn baby, your one-year-old sister, Rose, your Mom and Bro, " God, I'm so fucking kawaii" you purposely emphasize on the "kawaii" knowing that will irritate a certain classmate who Sollux calls, KK .

'So yeah, I'm that ungrateful kid in Bro's arms and the girl is my sis, but I guess she isn't worthy of an elaboration" he was so going to fail this. But who the fuck cares? Well, maybe he should go straight home and avoid a pissed off Lalonde.

"Could you please explain why is your father "Bro" since it sounded like he was your brother, and that'd be incest" one of the older kids snickered. You smirked. "Well, the age difference between us can be considered brothers, and sisters, except Mom wants to be called Mom, and Bro doesn't want to feel old like all of your fathers, so he made us call him Bro instead and it pretty much stuck. And it sounds cooler that way than calling my dad the same way you guys call yours an old guy at some bar smooching women other than your mothers" shit, you went too far didn't you?

So maybe, you directed it at the older kids who were often bullying you, and didn't mean it to your classmates who you are friends with. Karkat just laughed at your answer for the older boy, giving you a rare thumbs up and " HOLY SHIT STRIDER". Rose just tried to hold back her laughter with her forever stoic expression ( okay so besides appearance and genetics, they did share the stoic expression , and their parents don't have stoic expressions and that doesn't bother them). You smirked widely as nearly the entire class laughed at your response. Hey, if he was going to insult Bro, insult them right after.

"Then where's your Mom? What about this "Bro" you're talking of? Are you sure they're doing decent jobs and not having mistresses and your Mom not becoming a prostitute?" it was the same older boy. You wanted to laugh so bad. Is he a fucking idiot or something?

"My Mom is a travelling scientist. She is an alcoholic and seeing someone other than Bro since they're pretty much divorced anyways, and Bro is too busy with work and he'd rather work than see his own son grow. I'm not as bothered by it and pretty much understand the situation unlike you who would throw a fit when you find out your Dad's dating a fat and ugly woman?" smooth, Strider. One more and it's detention for you. But hey, you're having fun. You didn't mind having to live alone in a big and spacey apartment. You have actors, directors and film producers as neighbours for fuck's sake.

Oh God, Karkat was hyperventilating after laughing again. Nepeta continued with her shipping chart. Rose with her stoic expression . Sollux is dense as always. Wait, is Gamzee high?Whatever, it isn't of your concern anyways.

So you pretty much had detention. 2 slips for insulting and offending a student's family (he was insulting yours and he didn't get a motherfucking slip? That's prejudice), and a slip for making a student getting sent to the nurse's office ( Karkat was basically laughing a lot due to the insults, and he was okay with them, so why did he get a slip for that?) .

And why is Jade in detention anyways? You're sure she's more of a nerdy kid, but you like her. Not that it's like you'll ever tell her that. Nope. A coolkid doesn't do it like everybody else.

"So why is brain girl in detention?" you whispered loud enough for her to hear. "Because nerd girl got pissed at a student, and she shot her with a rifle but the bullets were made of polystyrene instead so it was harmless" she replied, smirking at the sight of you in detention. " Why is coolkid in detention? Knocked a girl up?" great, Jade always had this other side of hers .

"I insulted an asshole who insulted me but he didn't get detention so is that enough for you" you whispered in her ear, earning a "No talking" from the teacher who didn't even bother looking at you two.

"And I'm always in detention" you answered. "I always get detention too, maybe our sessions are just different?" Jade chuckled. God, you're going to fall for her. Hopefully you didn't, so you don't need Bro spying on you, Rose giving you unnecessary advice such as "Use protection or else you'll regret it". You're not sure about your Mom. Wait, how did Mom and Bro even fell in love and confessed to each other?

Wait, how did they even think deal with a situation like this

Your Bro is awesomely ironic and your Mom(from what Rose said before) loves irony and is pretty much drunk, so they're always telling the truth?

Why are you even bothering yourself to know these disgusting info? You don't want to even think they did the do and imagine them doing it. That's fucking gross.

**OoOoO**

"So how did you get in detention again?" If only you knew Bro was coming back today, you would've skipped school instead of insulting other students. " I was showing off my katana that my dear Bro made for me" you did have one. Bro said he'd be proud of it and wouldn't mind if you showed it to other people. "Bull-fucking-shit. David, your teacher said you were insulting a student" oh shit.

Bro doesn't call you David unless it's very, I repeat, very serious.

"And why were you insulting him?" although both your eyes and Bro's were shielded by shades, you swear, you can sense the intensity of him glaring at you. "He was insulting me first" you admitted. "And how did he insult you?" Bro raised an eyebrow.

"He insulted you and Mom" that was the truth wasn't it. Great, you want to cry now since you really don't want to remind yourself of the absence of a motherly figure in your life. You missed your mom. And to top it off, you regret saying that. Bro misses Mom more than you do, you shithead.

"What did he say?" Bro was calm . Keeping his cool like the Strider he was raised as. Unlike you.

"He said you were sleeping with other women , although you weren't since you were always on television and your shows are always airing but he doesn't know you're my dad . He said Mom was a prostitute, although I know that she's busy with researches and Rose is always there to tell me what's going on" was what you wanted to say. Except you said " He said you were a gigolo and mom was a prostitute" which was shorter.

"I miss Mom" that was unexpected. You said it without thinking. Bro just stood there in front of you.

"We're not going to see her unless she says so lil' man. Remember our promise?" you can sense in Bro's voice that he misses her too. "Is that why you're never home? To distract yourself from thinking about her every time you see me? Sine I'm practically her kid and I looked more like her than you and Rose looks more like you than me? That I remind you of Mom?" that was deep , and burning. Ouch.

"No more of this talk okay, lil' man?" Bro's back was facing you, but you know, he's crying. There's no point of a coolkid facade by now.

You wish that you could see your Mom anytime by now. It's been more than 9 years, and not once has she asked to talk to you. Not once have you ever heard her voice ever since the divorce. Did she ever think of you? Does she even want to see you?

Nevermind, you have Rose if anything ever happened.


	3. Chapter 3

Dirk Strider. That's your name. But you're used to "Bro" . Dave has been calling you that for years. How long? 13 years? You don't remember. You wanted to be called Bro, since you felt old being called "Dad" all the time.

Well, it's only been your first half-hour home. You've been sent off to Vancouver for a film, for months now. And you're starting to regret it.

You had an argument with Dave a little while ago. Let it be, teenage hormones, you scoffed. But now you realised something else. Maybe he's just a little lonely? He's practically been raising himself if you don't count on the babysitter you hired. But the babysitter was shit.

Though, your work as an actor and his side-job as a child actor-DJ had gave you father-son bonding time. But most of the time, you weren't on the same set.

Dave's probably on his laptop , you thought. Maybe Lil' Cal would cheer him up? Or Smuppets? No. You shook your head. He hates them and you wouldn't want to anger him more than needed.

You decided, it was time to clean the place up. Being the only one in the house, and no one to talk to most of the time, Dave must've used those hours to clean this place up. It already looks neat and tidy. Wait, are those game consoles? Why are there four controllers?

Oh. You forgot he's friends with Karkat Vantas. Your co-star's son. Who's always cranky. And swearing. But you're in no place to judge.

Maybe he isn't always alone after all. You've found a few hints of at least 3 friends coming over very often. How do you know? You installed CCTV but it isn't always switched on 24/7. More to night-time or when Dave's out. He knows how to use it so you're not worried if the kid messes up.

You were in the surveillance room, when you heard someone ringing the doorbell of your apartment room. You head over there immediately and found two figures of the same face you've seen before. "Jake?Jane?" oh shit.

"We're their kids, actually. Nice to meet you, Mr Strider! I'm John and this is my sister, Jade! Don't worry though, we're quite used to that, sometimes I call Jade "Mom" and she calls me "Dad", it's kind of funny" you haven't known this boy for longer than 10 seconds and you're already fond of him.

Maybe he took after Jake. Or Jane. Both of them are friendly, social and funny.

"Can we come in?" Jade asked. You've confirmed one thing , John took after Jane and Jade took after Jake. Wait, John is the only one in the family that doesn't have "a – e" in his name.

Sure! Make yourself at home" You tried your best at smiling. "You know, Mr Strider, it's okay if you curse. It's awkward if you force yourself to be polite and all..knowing Dave that is" okay, how long were you away for every trip to every single film shooting you went?

You didn't even bother to know that Dave has friends. Other than Karkat. God, you're embarrassing yourself.

"That was fucking fast" you heard Dave say, as he got out of his room. "What? You were expecting us to be late like Karkat all the time? Hell no, man. I want to watch it on time" John remarked.

"No, we're not going to watch that shitty Nic Cage movie of yours" Dave retorted. "Come on, Dave, I'm pretty sure that's what John says about your RDJ movies too, and yet he still watches it with you" you feel out of place.

"Hell to the fucking no" Dave still maintained a relaxed , cool-kid composure, but you know , that he's secretly enjoying the groans, grunts and complains of John Egbert.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave" both John and Jade resume to a long whining. How have you not knew of them? Oh yeah, you were rarely at home,and even if you were, how long would you stay at home? Hours. Not days. Just by looking at the blond boy, you start feeling guilty and sick. He's just too alike to Roxy. It's been 2 years since you've last heard from her. Did she move on and forget about you?

"Fine. But you guys owe me a shit ton of apple juice and a fuck ton of kisses to this ass" Dave gave in, with a sigh. You swore, you heard John and Jade cheering of joy. Yeap, they are Jake and Jane's kids.

"Dave, I'll be going out on an errand" you say, although you knew, the refrigerator is stocked up. You wanted to be out of Dave's sight immediately and that was just an excuse.

You leave without looking back or saying anything else.

Damn.

You got into your car before any of your neighbours see you and tells you "You're not much of a fatherly figure aren't you? You're always absent" like you needed to be reminded. Fuck that.

You start the engine and without hesitating, you drove off to the nearest family theme park in the state.

You reached there within hours, without stopping anywhere. You remember this place. You went here once with Roxy, Dave and Rose. Dave and Rose were only 3 and 4 back then, but old enough for some adventure of their own.

Those were the happy times.

"I knew you'd be here" he heard someone say. He turned around and saw his old friend, Jake English. "Jade gave me a call and said you were off to somewhere, since you always go here for whatever reason I don't know of, I guess my prediction's pretty accurate" Jake shrugged.

Jake English and Dirk Strider himself were ex-boyfriends of each other. That is, until they found out they like the girls more than the guys, which made them bisexual . Jane and Roxy were ex-girlfriends as well, but both of their relationships with their significant other of the same gender didn't go past through the cuddling stage. Jake liked Jane and Dirk liked Roxy. End of story.

"Shut the fuck up, Jake" he said harshly, not actually meaning what he said behind those words. "Painful, huh? Something to do with Dave and Roxy? " he hit it. "And Rose. But damn fuck, Jake, you knew where to hit don't you?" Dirk smirked. "What can I say? We're friends with benefits and ex-boyfriends, of course I'd know a lot about you. And Jane helped me a lot in tormenting you" Jake English, the psychiatrist.

"You're worried for that kid, aren't you? Growing up without the presence of a mother for years of age, fired a babysitter that couldn't take care of him and growing up with the absence of a father. He's been through a lot, unlike John and Jade" the black-haired man sighed along with Dirk.

"You know, I'm sorry for not taking care of Dave for you when he was younger. He's all tough and able to defend himself all on his own now" Dirk's head shot upwards. "If you did, he'd be calling you Dad instead of me and that'd be awkward" Dirk managed to laugh a bit. "Yes , it would be, Bro" Jake caught up and laughed with him.

"Do you think Dave hates me? Do you think he thought I abandoned him and left him alone?" he sighed once more, earning a shaken head from the other. "You're quite sentimental today. Smile! Don't be like this for his sake" Jake was like a psychiatrist.

"You know, we're all bisexuals, and Roxy or Jane isn't here, can you give me a kiss on the cheek?" Dirk smirked , and much to his own amusement, Jake did. "This doesn't mean I still have feelings for you! I'd rather kiss Roxy full on the lips than on yours!" he could be funny sometimes. And they're all comfortable with each other .

Jake left soon after and Dirk was on his own again. "Should I go back?" he shook his head, he'd already said he'll be doing errands. So he did.

((A/N: Sorry for not updating. Got caught up with studying, and will be having exams next week and school's ending in 2 more weeks, so yeah! I'd be updating this fanfic really fast after the exam ends if I didn't have other fanfics to do))


	4. Chapter 4

You're bothered . By a thought that seemed to be arguing with your opinions for years. And the only way you dealt with it so far was through alcohol and you'd forget about it every night. But exactly, what bothered you?

"Mother, I'll be heading out" you heard your daughter's voice echoing. She doesn't expect a reply from you but simply, gibberish words that holds no meaning.

You heard her slam the door loudly, in frustration. Kids these days, don't they teach manners at school? But then again, maybe you're exaggerating about it. You're drunk after all.

All this thinking made you worry. Instead, you dialled for your best friend's number, who just happened to be your ex-girlfriend. The other end picked up and greeted you with a rather harsh " Roxy? Are you drunk again? Oh my God, I swear if you're drunk again, Jake and I" you cut her off mid-sentence, " Jane, help me. I'm bothered about something and I don't know what it is at all" you hadn't realise that you were crying. Your words were muffled up by your sobs.

"Be there in 10 minutes" was all you heard from her and your call ended with 'click!' . 10 minutes. 10 minutes to you is 10 hours, 10 hours to you is 10 days. How long are you supposed to wait again?

You decided to sleep in to kill that time. No harm in sleeping of course. But it's the nightmare that haunted you.

_There he was, your Golden Boy with his adorably huge red eyes. What was his name again? And to your left, was Rose and someone familiar. They were playing. You had nothing to do, except pick your boy up and play with him. He's 4 years old, he'd be amused by anything._

_Then , you noticed your baggage surrounding you. What were they for? "Roxy, are you sure?" You heard an older and masculine voice talking to you. "Yes, I'm sure. Please, leave Rose and I alone and I don't want to hear from you again" you said, but they weren't your words. You kept toying with the boy's fingers, everything seemed familiar once more._

_"Roxy—" you cut him off "Please! I'd leave Rose with you and bring him with me if I had the choice!" you yelled. "This isn't the matter of them, Roxanne! It's about you. I'm fine with your decisions but are you entirely sure you would never regret it?" the voice yelled louder. God, not this again._

_"Then why do keep asking whether I'm fine with my decision?! Of course I'm fine with it!" you're not, but it's said in your voice, although you knew, you weren't the one saying that. "Fine, be that way. I won't beg for you to stay since you're too obsessed with work rather than your own family. You can leave if you want, just... you're welcome to come back" you can hear the cries in his voice._

_You took a glance at the boy once more. He's asleep in your arms. He looked a lot like you rather than the older male. Your daughter however, shared more similarities with the older male. This is going to be a rough ride._

_"I'm never coming back" you said, but you didn't say it. Someone with the same voice as you did._

"ROXANNE LALONDE WAKE UP!" you hear the loud voice of Jane Crocker. "What time is it?" you asked, knowing you'd get a glare from the woman. "It's been 10 minutes since your call and 5 minutes since we tried to wake you up" Jake replied instead of her.

"Guys, I think I have a grasp of what's bothering me" you admitted. Jane and Jake looked worried, not usual. "We know what it is, Roxy" Jake consoled you. "When was the last time you've called him?" Jane emphasized on 'him'. So they do know.

You counted mentally. "2 years" you bit your tongue. "Exactly" Jake sighed. You grabbed your bottle of vodka, but was snatched away by Jane. "But that's not what you're bothered about, right?" Jane confronted you in a civil manner unlike yourself.

"Why doesn't he call me instead of me calling him?" you asked, in your sober condition. " Honey, it was part of the deal. You told him not to call you and only you can call him. He's respecting your decisions, and living by it. He doesn't want to bother you anymore. You're the one who's living against it" you could feel the anger in your heart.

"Why? Why why why?" you repeatedly asked. " Are you asking why you were so stupid and said you're never going to regret it?" you'd punch Jake in the face right now but whatever he said was true. "Or are you regretting your choice of your job being your priority and leaving your own family at sixth place in your list" .

"Both" you answered.

"You do remember, he already told you that you're welcome to come back if you want" Jane and Jake spoke simultaneously. "But what if he hates me already or forgets about me? It's been over a decade since I've last seen him! What if him and the boy—" Jake interrupted you by saying "the boy's name is Dave" and you continue your sentence "What if him and Dave hates me , wishes me to never be a part of their life although they leave their doors open for me to come back? What if they moved?"

"I'm sure Dirk doesn't hate you and still wants you back, but Dave, I'm not sure" Jake shook his head. " What do I have to do then? I want them all back" you sniffed.

"Start with all these empty bottles lying around the place which is probably the reason why Rose wants to get out of the house 99% of the time" Jane suggested, to which, you agreed.

OOOOOoOOOOO

Everything is done and completed. What else could you do?

"How do you know all these things?" you asked, hesitatingly. The couple looked at each other, sighed and turned back to you. "Promise us, you won't yell at us or hate us" , you nodded.

" We know where Dirk is. Where Dave is. Their house, Dave's school. He skipped a grade and was offered to go to the school here. Dirk packed up and left Texas immediately so that Dave could catch up with his studies. We became Dave's babysitters since the hired was more of a freeloader. So we know what's going on in their household" the confessed.

You felt angry. You felt numb. You don't know what to say. In front of you, were two figures who were more of a parental figure than you were to Dave. In front of you, were two people who've you've known as friends and trusted them. In front of you, were two people who knew whatever happened to Dave for years and never told you about it.

You promised you won't get angry, and you did.

"I want to see Dave" were the only words you could muster up. "It'll take a long time, but we assure you, we'll prepare both you and him for it. He doesn't seem to be fond of you, you know?" Jane rubbed your back in circles.

You nodded.

Jake gave you vodka to drink and you fell asleep.

((A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter. Exams are coming up next week and after that I'm free from everything except PBS . If you're not Malaysian, PBS is Pentaksiran Berdasarkan Sekolah, which replaced our annual nation-wide exam, PMR, which could determine your life. So instead, we're given assignments to do by the school authorities and not exams))


	5. Chapter 5

You hated the reek of the house you lived in. Alcohol, perfume and more alcohol reek. You understand though, that your mother has been trying her best to get rid of her addiction, but she's been stressed out a lot . You understand and accepted the fact that she could only relieve the stress by drinking, but you worry for her health.

She hasn't been sleeping, resting or even talking. She's been silent. Your mother was constantly at work, and if she came home, she'd immediately rush to the study and never got out of the room until it's time for her to go to her office.

Every time you looked at her, you wished she's just stop and rest for a while. Not drinking and drinking to keep herself awake. Coffee doesn't keep her awake , but the alcohol does the effect.

She went to the office just minutes ago, without saying a word to you when she passed by. You hated that. You didn't mind but you felt ignored. You knew she didn't mean it, her work is important. Maybe, what Bro said years ago, was right. She cared more about her work than her children. Or maybe, she's a workaholic paying living expenses for herself and you. Maybe, it's a distraction. But it went on ever since you were a toddler, that you often played with Bro who didn't had a fixed schedule ( but mostly, night shifts as he acted as a main character of a supernatural-related television show at the time).

You had nothing else to do, except, bask in your freedom of being alone in the house. You decided, to not go on line. You didn't feel like talking to anyone. Not even Dave . Only your to pet cats, Vodka Mutini and Jasper, were your source of company.

You pet them behind their pointy ears and they simply squirmed in delight. They've been with you ever since you were a small child, basically, ever since Dave was 2 years old. Jasper was yours and Vodka was supposed to be Dave's pet cat for his birthday.

You had nothing to do in this house too and all the scientific equipment in this house is far advanced and beyond your usage and knowledge, so you let it aside. You didn't want to write or do any of that psychology stuff either, people would think you're a freak for doing it on your cats.

You remembered something. It was a thing from your past that you've never seen in ages. You wondered, is it at the old house or did you bring it with you when you left? Surely, you brought it.

It was the darn old sketchbook full of Dave's Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff sketches ( he was a pretty good abstract artist at such age) or that sketchbook that you brought for a Show and Tell years ago.

It was a photo album and you found it under piles and piles of the drafts for your novel. It was dusty and worn. But the photos were still in mint condition. You smiled. Nothing in this house ever lasted this long, except for you, your mother, and the cats.

The first few pages, were pictures of you as a baby. Wrinkly and monkey-like, most were filled with Bro playing with you. There were some with your mother in them, but you noted that she let you around with dangerous chemicals.

The 15 photos after that were of your first birthday, the day after Dave was born. It was a fantastic time to celebrate. Two birthdays at were old, yellow photos of you playing with your baby brother. There were some where Aunt Jane brought her own children with her and Uncle Jake was away to a pacific island for a research.

The next pages, were unexpected. You never remembered that these pages existed. But here they were, filled with pictures of your mother, your father, your uncle and your aunt, all before they got you, Dave, John and Jade.

You knew, from a story Aunt Jane once told you, that she dated your mother once, your father once, and then stuck with Uncle Jake. Your mother dated Aunt Jane , Uncle Jake and stuck with Bro. Bro dated Uncle Jake, Aunt Jane and then ended up with your mother. Uncle Jake first had his relationship with Bro, then your mother then finally, Aunt Jane. They were all mutual.

And there were proofs. Pictures of your mother kissing Aunt Jane fully on the lips. Pictures of Bro and Uncle Jake crossdressing and pulling it off while at a restaurant for a date. A picture of Uncle Jake trying to bridal-style carry your mother and vice-versa for Aunt Jane and your father.

Then came the worst. A picture of Uncle Jake and Aunt Jane's wedding. You prepared for the next photo and you cried when you did.

Your mother was in a pure pearl white wedding dress, with a floral crown placed on her head and the dress was strapless. Your father, was in a smart English cut tux. He didn't wear any shades on that day and you remembered a story Uncle Jake once told you:

" The whole chapel called them the weird-eye coloured couple! Some even called your Father a demon and your Mother a devil for those eye colours but in the end it was all okay"

Your mother, was an alcoholic right now. Here they were, in their wedding dress and tuxedo, surrounded by your grandmother, grandfather, Aunt Jane and Uncle Jake. Vowing to never separate. And here they were, next few years, divorced.

You hated it.

You hated it that your parents had a life as Dirk & Roxy and lived happily even when they dated. You hated it that your parents had a life as Mom & Bro and lived separately.

You hid the photo album away and refused to see it again. But it was weird. There was a nostalgic feeling whenever you looked at a photo, regardless if you was born on that day.

You wondered, how and what were your parents doing, before they dated Aunt Jane and Uncle Jake and what made hem realised that they were for each other? It depressed you when you thought of it so you gave up in the end.

Having nothing to do now , you slept on your bed and drift into a deep sleep filled with dreams and nightmares.

((A/N: Sorry for such a short and rushed chapter guys! I haven't got the motivation to write since I got my English Paper back and got a bloody 77% on it. Well, 77% is an A in this country but it doesn't seem right. Even my Malay Language paper got higher marks! My English Paper was that low because of my Paper 2 answers, for literature. I got full marks for my Guided Writing and Creative Writing but the sections of the Paper 2 that's related to existing storybooks and poems, well... I got incredibly low marks for it since I couldn't give them an example of a situation. That said, I got demotivated for a long time and when I got all my results back, I only got 1 B, and 9 As and I was motivated once again, but then I got busy and meh. Right now, this is a quick writing , so any grammar mistakes or wrong usage of words, please notify me immediately and I'll correct it. I'll be heading off to a friend's Halloween Party cosplaying as Dave, so I need to get ready. Goodbye!))


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